Vertigo
by Phoenix.G.Fawkes
Summary: ‘Now, tell me again why it took you so long learning to fly.’ West and Claire have a chat, in which a surprising fact about Flyboy is revealed. SPOILERS EARLY SEASON TWO. Claire/West


**Disclaimer:** Heroes belongs to Tim Kring.

**Spoilers:** 2x03 'Kindred'

**Pairing:** Claire/West

**Prompt:** 06. Fly. Written for heroes50.

**Summary:** 'Now, tell me again why it took you so long learning to fly.' West and Claire have a chat, in which a surprising fact about Flyboy is revealed.

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**Vertigo**

'Now, tell me again why it took you so long learning to fly.'

They are once more at their favourite, secluded spot on the beach, taking advantage of the free period they have – one of the perks of flying is getting anywhere you want at a short notice – enjoying the sun and contemplating the calm sea. Or at least West was enjoying the sun and contemplating the calm sea until Claire decided to pester him. Why he puts up with her is a mystery to him… during those few hours of the day during which he's not staring at her lips, hanging on her every word or having vivid, non PG-rated dreams about her. Which amount to maybe two or three hours of his day. Perhaps. Maybe. Probably not that long.

He lets out a resigned sigh, more appropriate for a christian martyr about to die in Rome than a teenaged boy hanging out with a pretty, smart girl, but he's trying to dissuade her from asking further questions.

It doesn't quite work.

'C'mon, was it really that hard?' she insists. 'It didn't just sort of happen, like my regeneration thing?'

'Unlike having cells that regenerate of their own accord,' he replies, using the tone one would normally employ while talking to a small child, 'flying requires certain skill. It doesn't just happen.'

She frowns and he tries to ignore the fact that she looks rather cute.

'Like, what? You have to jump with both your feet at the same time? Think happy thoughts? What?'

Now she has stopped being cute. For real.

'No, not like that. It just requires… practice. You need to start with little things. Not all of us can jump of a fifteen-story building and live to tell the tale.'

'Peter did it.'

There are times when West totally hates that Peter guy. If it weren't for the tiniest detail that he is actually Claire's uncle, West would probably hate him _all_ the time.

'Well, not everyone's like Peter either. You can't just look down from a terrace and say "I'll jump" without thinking of your brain splattered all over the street. It's not that easy.'

She opens her mouth to reply, surely with another question, but then by some miracle she closes it. He suppresses a sigh of relief. If they can just go back to their talk about lizards, chopped-off pinky toes or even that horrendous, cheesy movie she wants to drag him to watch, it'll sit just fine with him. Or even just sitting here in silence would be great, really. Anything but the third grade she's been inflicting on him is a relief.

However, as the silence goes on and Claire continues to stare at him with an odd, thoughtful look on her face, it starts to give him the creeps.

'_What?_' he exclaims, when he finally can't take it anymore. She blinks in an all too innocent manner and shrugs.

'Nothing.'

He frowns. With her golden curls and her sparkling green eyes, she is the picture of innocence. He almost believes her. Almost.

'Don't say_ nothing_ when I know it's something that I can't guess because it could be anything but even if it's anything then it's not _nothing_ and it's something.'

This time she looks genuinely confused.

'Sorry?'

He waves his hand dismissively. 'You know what I mean. You were going to say something, and then you didn't say anything and… just go and say it, OK?'

_Preferably before I end up sounding much more like a dork than I already have,_ he thinks, glad hearing people's thoughts is not her thing.

She stares at him for a while longer, then half shrugs.

'It's nothing, really.' He's about to bang his head against a rock, seriously. 'I've just figured it out.' At his perplexed look she adds: 'Why it took you so long learning to fly.'

'And why was that?'

She tilts her head to one side, her curls catching the morning sunshine.

'Well, because you were afraid of heights, obviously.'

A pause. Somewhere in the distance he can hear a girl laughing. If it were nightfall, there would be crickets.

He snorts.

'I'm not afraid of heights.'

'There's nothing to be ashamed about,' she says kindly but the glint in her eyes tells him she's everything but, 'It's something very common. Sure, it's kinda problematic when your special ability turns out to be _flying_, but –'

'I'm not afraid of heights!' he cuts her in, impatiently. 'C'mon, are you telling me that a guy who can fly is going to be scared of falling and getting hurt? It's stupid.'

She shrugs, her eyes still glinting in an all too malevolent manner.

'Clark Kent was afraid of heights, too.'

He stares at her as though she's grown a third head.

'You read comic books, too? What sort of cheerleader were you?'

She rolls her eyes in the way only a sixteen-year-old girl can get away with.

'Of course I didn't read it in a comic book, I saw it on _Smallville_.' At his look of utter disgust she replies: 'Well, Tom Wellington is hot. Like, scorching hot. And it's not like you don't watch _America's Next Top Model_ to check out the girls.'

He snorts again. He could tell her there's no point in watching that show when in his eyes she's much prettier (not to mention funnier and smarter, but that goes without saying) than any of those girls, but he won't. He's not that stupid.

Yet.

'Well, then you can ask Clark Kent to take you back to school.'

'Oh, c'mon, you're just – wait, where are you going?'

'Back to school,' he replies smoothly, his feet already hovering out of her reach. Her eyes widen comically.

'You are not going to leave me here.'

'You could always take the bus,' he points out. She shoots her a furious glare.

'Don't you dare –'

She jumps and grabs his ankles. He flies a little higher, but her grip starts to loosen.

'West!'

He lets out a wicked laugh.

'Well, who's afraid of falling now?'

'_West!_'

'It's not like you can get hurt.'

The glare she sends his way should have killed him in an instant.

'_You'll_ get hurt,' she hisses, but she gasps when her hold on his legs weakens until his jeans slip through her hands and she starts falling.

Later on, he'll reflect that not even Clark Kent, not to mention _Wonderful_ Peter, would have been as fast as he is to catch her before she hits the ground. In one smooth move, he dives and catches her in his arms to soar into the sky once more, rather gracefully or so he gathers from the fleeting look of wonder and awe on Claire's face when she looks at him. He smiles at her, for once not finding her annoying or anything but adorable – not that he will ever say such thing outloud – and she smiles back at him, all the warmth of California in that blinding smile. It's a perfect moment – that she must ruin, of course.

'You know what else I've noticed, West? You still don't look down when you fly.'

_Honestly_.


End file.
